Science

Neurotransmitter Levels in the Brain Can Predict Math Ability

Scanning was completed both during Time 1 and Time 2 (approximately 1.5 years later) in each of the 5 age groups (6-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 14-year-olds, 16-year-olds, and 18+-year-olds). Credit: Zacharopoulos G, et al., 2021, PLOS Biology, CC-BY 4.0The neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate have complementary functions - GABA inhibits neurons, while glutamate makes them extra active. Published...

First Application of the Eye-Tracking Methodology to Studying Lithic Industry

Experimental session. Credit: M. SilvaThe journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences published a study from The Paleoneurology Group at the Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) led by Emiliano Bruner. This study analyzes visual exploration patterns during handling of Lower Paleolithic tools, being the first application of the eye-tracking methodology to real stone...

Archaeologists Reveal Origins of Famous Stone Age Monument

Credit: University of ManchesterThe origins of Arthur's Stone, one of the UK's most famous Stone Age monuments, were discovered by archaeologists from the Universities of Manchester and Cardiff.According to Manchester's Professor Julian Thomas, who led the excavation, the ominous Herefordshire tomb links to nearby "halls of the dead" discovered in 2013.This construction inspired the...

Rare Upper Paleolithic Human Remains Found at the Cova Gran de Santa Linya Site

Remains of Linya, recovered in Cova Gran site. Credit: CEPAAt the Cova Gran de Santa Linya site (La Noguera, Lleida), the remains of a female attributed to H. sapiens were discovered by scientists of the Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH). The carbon-14 record of the sediments in the natural vessel...

The Use of New Algorithms to Determine the Sentence Can Reduce the Length of Prison Sentences

US prisons currently hold about 2 million detainees - many held while awaiting trial, and others serving extremely long prison sentences. New research by Professor Christopher Slobogin, Milton R. Underwood Chair in Law at Vanderbilt Law School, indicates that a risk prediction algorithm can help dramatically reduce these numbers.According to the professor, there is...

A New Algorithm Can Help Improve the Design of Cell Phone Materials

New research published in Scientific Reports has revealed that a plain but robust new algorithm can help engineers improve the design of cellular materials used in various applications, from defense, biomedical to intelligent structures and the aerospace sector.How cell materials perform can be uncertain, so calculations to help engineers predict how they will react...

Challenging Orthodoxy: Race, Racism and the Reconfiguration of the Economy

Photo by Clay Banks on UnsplashThere are many books on what's wrong with the economy ( Chang 2014; Keen 2011; Nelson 2018, Mazzucato 2018, Raworth 2018, Stanford 2015 ) and what we would need to do to change it. Considering the small change we've seen in economics training and effective policy economic thinking since the 2007/08 global...

Intestinal Microbes Can Help Reverse Brain Aging

On August 9, 2021, research from APC Microbiome Ireland (APC) at University College Cork (UCC), published in the leading international scientific journal Nature Aging, presents a new approach to invert aspects of brain deterioration and cognitive function related to aging through the microbes in the intestine.As our population ages, one of the leading global...

Evidence of the Earthquake Cited in the Bible is Found in Jerusalem

The storage vessel after restoration - Photo: Dafna Gazit Israel Antiquities Authority. Medicine: Joseph BocangolzA team of scientists from the Israel Antiquities Authority found evidence of a massive earthquake in the city of Jerusalem dating back to approximately 2,800 years ago.Previous research had uncovered evidence of a significant earthquake in Israel in the mid-eighth...

Italy Might Have Registered Europe’s Highest Temperature on Record

The Mediterranean heatwave has led to the spread of wildfires across southern Italy. Credit: REUTERSThe Italian island of Sicily may have registered the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe - 48.8C (119.8F)Regional authorities reported the reading, which the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) needs to verify, near Syracuse on Wednesday.According to the WMO, the present...